Our first video, how to plant seedlings._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Summer 2012

Published: North and West Melbourne News, December 2012

I often take my little
family on walks through community gardens in search of inspiration and sometimes
just to admire a well-made vegetable bed. What I love about a beautifully
designed veggie bed is that it is abundant with produce, with a lovely balance
of form and function. I am a real sucker for colour so any bed with a mixture
of herbs, flowers, fruit and veg will win my heart.

It does take some knowledge
to choose the flowers that work best in a vegetable garden. I wanted to take
this opportunity to highlight some of the good flower companions and also

to
make you aware of some common flowers that are poisonous.

Alyssum

These sweet little
flowers look like hundreds of tiny boquets. You can plant them from seed or as
seedlings and they will attract hoverflies which produce larva that will eat
aphids. Alyssum also attract bees to pollinate your garden. Once planted, Alyssum
don’t need to be repurchased as they reseed freely and make a beautiful
groundcover every year.

Borage

I love
Borage. I’m not really sure why. It can take over your garden and is a tiny bit
ugly but there is something endearing about it. Borage is a great companion
plant for tomatoes, squash and strawberries and is one of the best plants for
attracting bees and wasps. The small purple flowers of Borage can be eaten. Someone
once told me they taste like oysters but I don’t believe it (crazy gardeners!).

Nasturtium

I have
always grown nasturtiums in my gardens. They are a wonderful companion for many
vegetables including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, radishes
and mustards. They also deter loads of pests such as aphids and whiteflies. It
seems there is nothing this plant can’t do. You can eat the flowers, the leaves
and even the seeds. My favourite part of this flower is that they self-seed
like crazy. Their seeds look like tiny brains and I love getting the children in
my classes to gather as many brains as they can find to save and replant the
following season.

Calendula

These bright
yellow beauties are a real treat in the garden. They are super easy to grow and
self-seed like their lives depend on it (a little gardening humour for you
there).

Along with marigolds, calendulas
are said to be the best companion plants for repelling insects. However the
books I have read on the topic vary in their descriptions of the insects they
repel and I remain skeptical of their results. Calendulas do attract slugs and
just this week I found cabbage moth caterpillars hiding in my older plants. The
jury is out

on how effective they are, but my word they look good!

Sunflowers

Sunflowers
are planted for children and big kids. They are the beautiful summer triphids
of the garden and a good companion for corn. Also their seeds can be eaten or
saved and sown the following year.

Many years ago I was
surprised to learn that rhubarb leaves were poisonous if ingested, causing
nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. As a gardening teacher I set about
investigating what other common garden plants were also poisonous. Here I have
listed nine poisonous garden plants common in Melbourne.

Daphne (**). All parts of
the plant, especially the berries and bark.

Delphinium (**). All parts,
especially seeds.

Foxglove (**). All parts.

Hellebores (**). All parts.

Hydrangea (*). All parts
when ingested

Lupins (*). Dried and fresh
leaves and young stems.

Lily-of-the-valley (**). All
parts, especially the berries.

Morning glory (*). Seeds.

Sweet peas (*). All parts,
especially the seeds and pods.

* = toxic (causes discomfort
and irritation but not dangerous to human life)

** = highly toxic (capable
of causing serious illness or death).

A general rule-of-thumb is
that all plants with dripping, milky sap should be treated with caution. Euphorbias
and frangipanis are good examples of these. Cutting these plants causes them to
drip with sap which causes a burning sensation on the skin. When working with
these plants, wear a hat, gloves, long-sleeve shirt and long trousers. Be careful
not to make the rookie mistake of wiping your brow as this can lead to a world
of pain! Also children are often interested by plants that create this milky
sap so make sure you alert them to the danger.

Toxicity is a part of some
plants’ natural defence systems and they can be surprisingly lethal to humans.
However, now that you are armed with the knowledge of which common plants to
avoid, you shouldn’t let this deter you or your kids from having fun in the
garden. So enjoy the summer and take time to stand back and enjoy your
colourful gardens and your hard work. No matter how big or small your garden
may be.

On the weekend I made the
classic mistake of not reading an entire recipe before deciding on it as my
dinner dish (yes this is still a gardening article, bare with me). At the tail
end of winter, and on a freezing Melbourne night, I served my husband a cold
noodle salad with salmon and herbs. Not the ideal winter dish, (but truly
delicious) however it did serve to remind me how amazing herbs are and how easy
they are to grow. So lets talk herbs.

Classically herbs are put
into two groups: soft and hard herbs. Soft herbs such as mint, parsley and
basil are best used fresh and mostly last one season, while hard herbs thyme,
sage and rosemary are best used dried and are perennials. Herbs will not only
liven your dishes, but in the garden they attract beneficial insects and serve
as companions for the other crops in your garden. In honour of the herb, here
are a few of my favourites and some growing tips and suggestions for companion
plants.

Mint

I have two recommendations
when it comes to growing mint. One: don’t buy mint, take some cuttings and
plant directly. This is not only free but it grows faster and produces a better
crop. Two: Mint can take over a garden. I recommend planting in a spot that you
want covered or in a pot. If you have planned a spot in your garden for your
mint but it runs the risk of taking over, plant it in the ground in a big pot
to contain the roots. Mint prefers damp, partly shaded areas of your garden.
Don’t be concerned if your mint looks a bit worse for wear in winter, it dies
down but will come back strong in spring and once established will grow for
many years. Mint can be grown with cabbages and tomatoes.

Parsley. A popular herb,
which is easy to grow in Melbourne. It can be grown as a seed or bought as a
seedling. The good thing about parsley is that it will self-seed in your
garden, which means you should only have to do the growing once! There are two
types of parsley readily available: curly leaf and flat leaf. It is a personal
choice but I prefer flat leaf. They like to be planted with carrots, chives,
tomatoes and asparagus; but not potatoes.

Basil

A classic warm weather
herb, you can grow your basil in seed trays and transplant out after 5 weeks or
buy as a seedling. There are different varieties of basil on the market now,
including cinnamon, thai and lemon, so why not try a few. To keep your crop
growing for as long as possible, remove the flower heads as soon as they
appear. Basil is the timeless companion to tomato.

ThymeA trusty hard herb
which can be grown from seed; I have never done this, I buy it as a seedling or
from a cutting and plant direct into the garden. If you have pavers in your
garden or little gaps that need to be filled, pop a seedling in there. Thyme
that creeps between pavers releases the most amazing aromas when you walk
through your garden. It likes to be planted near other hard herbs such as sage
and oregano.

Sage

Although sage is a
perennial herb, lasting in your garden for years, it will die down each winter
and come back again in the spring. So don’t be disheartened when your sage
looks like it is on its way out in the cooler months. Avoid planting sage in a
spot that gets too wet. It will like being planted near broccoli, cauliflower,
cabbage, carrots and rosemary.

Rosemary

Not only my lovely
mother’s name, but a herb for the community. Take some rosemary from your best
mates garden, strip off the leaves close to the cut, dip in honey (I’m deadly
serious), then plant. Rosemary will become a large shrub if you let it, so
choose your space wisely and prune to maintain the shape you are after. Plant
with beans, carrots, cabbages and sage.

My feeling is this… there is
no reason why every house in Melbourne shouldn’t have fresh herbs growing. Not
only is it cost effective but it is so easy. At the moment we live in a small
apartment, I am growing basil, parsley, coriander, mint, thyme, sage and
rosemary. So go on, get growing and add deliciousness to your meals.

In the depths of a Melbourne
winter it can be hard to motivate yourself to get outside among the elements to
enjoy your garden. So how can we be successful as home gardeners while rugged
up by the fireplace?* The answer is simple: green manure.

This non-stinky variety of
manure rejuvenates the soil while you get to sit back and watch. It just takes
a little preparation while the sun is still out.

Green manure is a crop of
annuals, consisting of grains and legumes that are grown for the sole purpose
of putting organic matter and nitrogen back into the soil. Let me be clear:
none of this crop will be eaten, it is grown for the soil’s belly not yours.

The process of growing a
green manure crop takes about eight weeks in an empty bed and then a further
four weeks before it is ready to be planted in the spring (that’s 12 weeks in
front of that fireplace, folks!)

As I mentioned in last year’s
winter edition, the process of crop rotation is a vital part of caring for your
soil. So although planting for green manure may seem like a lazy option, it is
a valuable part of your yearly gardening ritual.

Now, since I’m about to give
you an eight to twelve week gardening break, we had better get the preparation
for this crop right.

·Prepare your empty bed
with some organic poultry-based fertiliser by digging it into the surface of
the bed and water it with seaweed liquid.

·When sowing your seeds
you will want complete coverage unlike sowing a crop for produce. Spread the
seeds evenly and close together. If you are sowing a large area you can sow the
seeds in sections to ensure you cover it thoroughly.

·Rake over the seeds
lightly so that they roll around in the soil a bit. The rule of thumb for
planting any seeds is: you should cover the seed with soil as deep as the seed
is fat (I love watching the children I teach absorb that fact). Once the seeds
are all good and dirty they must be watered in. Now sit back and watch green
manure grow.

After 8 weeks or when the
crop is half a meter high it is ready to be cut down and added to your existing
soil. Keep an eye on your legumes (beans, peas etc) around this time, as they
need to be cut before they come into flower (Yes, this means you will have to
put down your book and pry yourself off the couch for just a few hours. Go on,
you’ll need the sun.)

When you are cutting the crop
remember you want to keep all the plant material in the beds. Slash the plants
into short pieces then leave them for a few days so that they wilt and break
down. Then dig them into the top layer of the soil, water and cover with a
light layer of mulch. It is important that you keep the garden beds damp while
plant matter is breaking down.

Now back inside to put the
kettle on. After four weeks (six if you are really lazy… I mean relaxed) you
are ready to plant a spring extravaganza. But we can leave that until next
time.

This issue is the lazy
gardeners guide to gardening! However if you have a little bounce in your step
and want to eat some of your own vegetables this season here are some veggies
you can plant: broad beans, Brussels sprouts, cabbages (red, green and Chinese),
fennel, garlic, kale, lettuce, onions, peas, radish and spinach.

Until spring…

I’ll see you in the dirt

Natasha Grogan

* Note to readers: I don’t
actually have a fireplace, but I don’t have a garden at the moment either so I’m
allowing myself a certain poetic liberty!

Autumn days are here and I,
for one, can’t believe it. I am happy to report that my first child, Gretchen
Peta, arrived safely two days before Christmas. The rest of the season felt
like one long day.

Gretchen has already joined
me many times in the garden, sleeping (like a baby), while I tend to the beds. It
would seem the little love has no choice but to become a keen gardener.

With my new arrival taking up
most of my time, you’ll have to forgive me for taking a blunt approach to my
gardening advice.

Inquisitive gardeners often
ask me “What should I plant now?” and “How and when do I harvest?” For those
posing the same questions I have provide a list of my Autumn favourites and a
guide to what to look for when harvesting:

Broccoli

Rarely will a home-grown
broccoli head reach the size of those in the supermarkets, so don’t wait for
them to grow to that size. Believe me, I made this mistake when I first started
gardening and they went to flower before they grew any bigger. I now harvest broccoli
when the buds on the florits (we called them trees when we were kids) look full
but are still tightly packed. If you harvest the broccoli an inch under the
main head you will be able to harvest small florits from the stem for several
weeks. The stem is delicious and full of nutrients so don’t leave it out of
your cooking once you have removed the plant.

Carrots

When harvesting carrots from
my garden over the holidays my Dad asked, with a concerned frown, if they were
“OK to eat”. I reassured him that, like us humans, organic produce comes in
many different shapes and sizes.

I love carrots, but have
grown very few that look like those in the supermarket. Instead I have taken to
calling mine “crazy carrots”. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some have two
legs, some twist and twirl and some split down the middle. Make no mistake,
they all taste terrific.

Carrots love fluffy, deep,
loam soil. After years I have not mastered the perfect carrot growing soil and
as a result they are a little on the wonky side. Your carrots will be ready to
harvest when you can see their tops pop out of the soil. Simply pull out, wash
and eat.

Leeks

Leeks are great for the
simple reason that they can stay in your garden for up to a year. If you forget
you have planted them they can be a great surprise months down the track.

Leeks are tricky to plant if
bought as seedlings. Each single ‘strand’ is one leek and there can be as many
as thirty in a punnet. Do not make the mistake of planting them all together (this
also applies to carrots, spring onions and beetroots). Take the time to
separate the seedlings and you will be rewarded all entire year round.

To ensure that all plants
have enough space you can plant leeks from seed and then thin out (remove some
of the seedlings that emerge). Harvest the leeks once they have reached your
preferred size by pulling out the entire plant.

Lettuce

I try to avoid buying lettuce
for my kitchen. The plastic bags seem like such a waste for the few leaves that
I require and often half of what I buy ends up in the bin. Besides, lettuce is
super-easy to grow all year round. You can buy seeds and thin out or just buy
seedlings. Either way, having lettuce in your garden is a money saver.

Harvest your lettuce by
breaking off only as many outer leaves as you need for your meal, leaving the
plant in the ground for your next dinner.

Silverbeet

Silverbeet is another plant that
is hardy and reliable. I always plant rainbow silverbeet (why go for green and
white when you can have green, yellow, red and pink?). Silverbeet is much like
lettuce: harvest the outer leaves you need, when you need them. You’ll use the
entire leaf when cooking so harvest each leaf from the base of the stem.

So there you have it! A few
treats to put in your garden over Autumn. This time last year I told you to add
some love to your soil in the way of manure, compost or both and to give your
garden a good water with seaweed liquid. This should become a part of your
Autumn gardening habits.

Summer is here and the hot
weather gets Melbournians outside, eating and drinking with friends. Now is the
time to show off your garden and its weird and wild summer fruit and
vegetables. With the hotter months upon us you will also need to be vigilant in
protecting your garden from frying in the harsh summer sun.

There are a few simple
measures you can put in place to ensure your garden survives the sweltering
summer heat. Watering is obviously the key to a bountiful summer crop.

Installing an irrigation system on a timer is not only water efficient but
terrifically easy to manage once installed. Of course not all families have the
means to set up such a system. Products such as water crystals and Solid Water
can assist with water retention so that you don’t have to spend your whole
summer holding a water hose. Sometimes I bribe my kindly neighbours with some
fresh fruit and veggies in exchange for a helping hand with the watering if I
am away.

Mulching is fundamental at
any time of year and should be a big part of your gardening ritual. During
these hot months give your garden bed an extra deep watering and then cover
with mulch.

Shade covers are a great way to
protect your garden from the powerful summer rays. They don’t need to be an architectural
masterpiece. Just make sure you build them wide and tall enough for the plants
to grow, with easy access when harvesting or maintaining the crop. I would go
as far as saying all open gardens facing north or west should have some shade
covers installed. There is nothing more disappointing than a sunburnt crop of
tomatoes.

Summer is also the time I start
dreaming of the varieties of tomatoes I will be planting. With so many
varieties to choose from it seems a shame to fill your garden with the trusty
red. This season look out for the Valentine tomato with sweet trusses of heart
shaped fruit. They appear just before Valentine’s Day and to me they’re better
than a box of chocolates.

Also keep an eye out for some
of my other favourites: Zebra, Tigerella, Black Russian and Yellow Pear. The
mixture of colours and shapes will really liven up your garden and they look
fantastic displayed on a plate with fresh basil and olive oil.

There are some simple steps
you should follow when planting tomatoes.

Before planting, spread some
compost and manure and apply a deep watering. If you had tomatoes in your
garden last year try to plant them in a different part of the garden this time.
Choose strong looking seedlings with roots that haven’t filled the pot. When
planting, take heed of the available space: tomatoes will fill the space no
mater how small they appear when you buy them.

Almost all tomatoes need to
be staked. Some gardeners will tell you to build a tee pee but I have found that
a tall (1.5M) single stake works best. After planting, spread some sulphate of
potash and water in with seaweed liquid.

Tips for a good crop of
tomatoes:

·Keep them well watered

·Alternate watering with
fish emulsion and seaweed liquid every two weeks

·Pinch out the armpit
hairs. When left untended, these stems that grow between the main stalk and the
lateral leaves will grow like main horizontal stems and become a real pain to
stake as well as detracting from the main stem.

·Tie the tomato stem to
the stake every 30cm

Show off your creative flare
in the summer months and mix up your planting. I love to grow corn, in between
the stalks I plant zucchini or cucumber to create edible mulch. Last summer I
grew pumpkins in between tea trees and trained them up the trunks, the fruit
looked amazing hanging from the branches.

By mid summer your garden
should be a sensory delight and filling your plates with deliciously sweet
produce. It’s easier to get the kids out in the garden in summer too as there
is so much to be done and crops grow large quickly. Give your children a
variety of fruit or vegetable to grow and encourage them to monitor the growth
until harvest. You can create a growing chart, with pictures, photographs and
weekly measurements. A little healthy competition will see the children taking
care of their plants even better than you!

Next issue we are back to
autumn planting but before then I have to work on my own garden as well as
having my first child, due next month. It’s going to be a busy summer!

Enjoy
the festive season and remember to slip, slop, slap, regardless of how long you
are out in the garden.

“Spring is sprung, the grass is ris. I wonders
where the birdies is.” This is how my spring started every year during my
childhood. My best friend’s Mum would shout it out to herald the first sunny
days in months. Twenty years later she says the same to her grandchildren.

There is something about spring that makes us a bit sillier, a little more childish and more optimistic. I am feeling this now even though it is still August - the sun is out and the clouds are whipping up warm gusts of wind. Spring is in the air! Time to tidy up your garden, to plant tasty, warm weather treats such as strawberries and to enjoy time outside with friends and family.

As gardeners, spring invites us back outside into
our sometimes neglected gardens. Like many things in life, we must tidy up
before we get started. Towards the end of winter and the start of spring I walk
through my garden deciding what should stay and what should go. At this stage
of the year many plants, such as lettuce, broccoli, bok choy, coriander and
parsley have gone to seed. My advice is to pull out most of these plants and
pop them in the compost. I do, however, suggest you leave one or two of each so
that they might shed their seeds and replant, saving you some of the hard work.

Coriander is a plant that can benefit from being
left to seed. For years I have battled to grow coriander. It was my greatest
antagonist in the garden. Earlier this year I gave in and allowed the plants to
go to seed early. Basically I ignored them. This winter I have had healthy
coriander everywhere. I have now dubbed coriander the cat of the plant world:
the more I ignore it, the more it seems to like me!

Once you have cleared out your old plants you can
see what you are working with. I recommend you use this opportunity to aerate
the soil. This is a simple task of pushing your fork into the earth between the
plants as deep as possible. Soil is often compacted and dry and will benefit
from the addition of water with seaweed solution after the aeration. I like to
add a mixture of manure and compost to the soil and tuck it all in with a ten
centimetre layer of mulch. My preference is to use sugar cane mulch rather than
pea straw as an annoying side effect of pea straw is that peas can start to
grow throughout your garden. Remember not to push your mulch right up against
your plant as this causes rot. The rule of thumb is to keep the mulch five
centimetres off the base of your plant.

Now for the fun stuff … spring is the time to plant
your delicious new season vegetables like chillies, eggplant, fennel and
capsicums. In mid to late spring I recommend planting beans, corn, cucumbers,
pumpkins, tomatoes and zucchini. This is just a small selection of the choices
available during spring. As always, I suggest you take a visit to your local
nursery and see what they have. If you’re not sure what a particular plant is,
just bang it in the ground and see what happens!

Remember to rotate your crops and avoid planting
any new crops in the exact same location as last season. I like to draw up a
map detailing the location of my plants to help me remember the following year.

If you’d like to try something sweet, plant
passionfruit, rhubarb and strawberries. A little note about strawberries: I
planted three in my parents’ veggie patch last spring and there are now over
fifteen plants all producing runners (the arms that become a new plant). I
suggest pinching off the runners and planting them throughout your garden -
they look beautiful as garden borders. A lovely activity for your children is
to plant small pots filled with soil around your strawberries to catch the
runners. They will root easily and you can then cut them off the parent plant.
Your children can then give these as Christmas or birthday presents.

Strawberry plants are a great choice for young
families as they are easy to harvest and eat on the spot. To grow beautiful
strawberries you need to be aware that they have shallow roots and therefore
require a deep watering about once a week during the hot weather. They will also
benefit from a good mulch, make sure you keep the berries on a bed of mulch and
off the soil as wet soil can cause them to rot.

Nothing beats home grown strawberries. They are
smaller than the kind you will find at your local grocer but are loaded with flavour.

I hope you enjoy your spring gardening. In my next
column I’ll be providing tips to keep your garden alive and kicking during the
hot months as well as some inspiration for summer plants and garden activities.

Ready or not the cooler months are upon us. Although seven degrees mornings may seem horrible at first, once you have warmed your bones walking around your garden with a hot cuppa it is actually a real treat to be out in the crisp air. There is magic to a winter garden: the dew that has settled on the leaves reflects the morning sky and the produce looks healthy and vibrant in the wet soil. This is a great time to wander around your garden and think about what you would like to grow and eat this winter. The winter months are also a good time to look at your soil and assess what you can do to make your garden spring ready.

I am an advocate of organic gardening and believe that we should not use pesticides and other chemicals in the garden, particularly where children are involved. Companion planting is a great way to work with Mother Nature to achieve a healthy and sustainable vegetable garden whilst discouraging those nasty pests. Companion planting is based around the idea that certain plants, when planted in close proximity of each other, will assist with natural pest control, nutrient uptake and a higher crop yield. Basil and tomato, for instance, is a well- known couple, both in the garden and on the plate. When planted together both plants increase in strength and flavour.

In addition to companion planting, crop rotation is another means to organic pest control. The trick is to not plant the same type of plant in the same spot in consecutive years (ideally, each plant would not return to the same spot for four to six years). The benefit of crop rotation is that the beds have moved on before pests and diseases have had an opportunity to establish.

Winter is the time to plant cabbages and celery. Remember to plant them together as celery is known to keep away the dreaded cabbage moth. If you planted legumes (peas/beans) over the summer plant these vegetables in their place, as they will also enjoy the nitrogen rich soil. I like to wrap my celery up in newspaper parcels to blanch the stems and to keep their shape.

Plant your winter peas and beans in the place of your last crop of leeks and onions. You will need to build a vertical structure on which the peas can grow. This can be a great opportunity to get the kids involved. Create a tepee with bamboo sticks and have the children weave coloured wool from the bottom to the top.

As always I promote growing heirloom and interesting varieties of produce. Why not try and grow a range of potatoes this winter: Cranberry Red (to mash & roast), Sapphire (boil, salad, roast), Kipfler (boil, salad, roast), Desiree (mash, boil, salad, roast) and Royal Blue (mash). You will have the most amazing mix of pink, purple, blue and white potatoes to spice up the old spud. Plant your potatoes among your broad beans as a good companion. I recommend planting potatoes in a self-contained raised garden bed so that they can be easily harvested.

Your soil

Soil nutrition is a complicated and at times dull topic full of scientific statistics so let’s stick to the basics. Firstly the health of your soil is the most important factor in having a healthy garden. Go outside and dive your hand into the soil of your garden. Grab hold of enough soil to make a ball.

If your ball fails to hold shape then it is sandy and will require you to mix in mushroom compost, chicken and sheep manure and blood and bone. I also like to mix in a little sugar cane mulch for good measure.

If your ball of soil holds firm and is hard to break apart your soil is clay based and could do with a dose of gypsum and a mixture of organic compost and manures.

If your soil forms a ball but is easy to break apart you have lovely loam soil, perfect for vegetable gardening. That said, it is still good practice to add blood and bone and some manure to ensure your soil stays healthy and is ready for a bumper spring crop.

Remember to use your senses. You want your soil to be a lovely deep brown and to have a sweet earthy smell. Trust your instincts and adjust your methods accordingly.

Welcome to the North and West Melbourne News gardening
column. In this new column I will be providing tips and advice for your home
vegetable garden as well as ideas to get your kids involved in your gardening.

Before we get started, let my introduce myself.

My name is Natasha Grogan, I grew up in a suburban Melbourne
household in which my parents maintained a functional garden filled with
Camellias, Japanese Maples and ferns. We never grew fruit or vegetables,
although I have a vague memory of a pot of parsley trying to grow outside the
back door of the family home. It was a surprise to my family then, when I
returned from a year in London in my early 20s, and announced that I was
determined to start a career as a food-growing gardener.

While working as a nanny in London I had cared for a little
girl whose parents fed her only organic produce. I was fascinated by the
benefits of growing and eating organic food and began to research the topic and
seek work in the field.

I soon made the decision to combine my two passions: organic
gardening and working with children. With an advanced diploma in Steiner
Education, a Bachelor of Primary Education and a Diploma in horticulture under
my belt I set about chasing my dream: to establish a business teaching children
to grow and enjoy organic produce in their own back yard.

I volunteered at the Collinwood Children’s Farm and worked
on my own garden patches at home. Each season I was growing and harvesting food
I had never seen grown before. I enjoyed watching eggplants spring from
delicate purple flowers and walking out my back door to add basil, parsley, and
coriander leaves to a salad.

Naturally, I also made all the first-time-gardener mistakes
and learnt from them: Never plant mint in a garden bed, don’t over fertilise
lemon trees in pots, and prune your tomatoes so as not to have six stakes to
one plant!

I also commenced work as a Garden Specialist with the
Stephanie Alexander Foundation and was thrilled for the opportunity to use my
skills and to be a part of a foundation that had the same hopes for young
children that I did.

My weeks were filled with gardening and children, and I
loved every moment. Some families were beginning to build their own veggie beds
at their homes and were asking advice. Others were keen to get their kids
involved but didn’t have the time to dedicate themselves. It was these families
that I was most keen to help and so I established my own business, “The Sage
Garden”, to offer a series of home-based programs to educate and encourage
children to grow fruit, herbs and vegetables in their own backyards.

It has been a great pleasure for me to assist families to transform
their backyards and introduce their children to the joys of growing their own
food and I hope I can share some of that fun with you in this column.

Autumn Gardening

Autumn is a great time to stand back and assess your garden.
Ask yourself these questions:

Do I
like the design?

Have
my plants been receiving enough sun and water?

What
would I like to grow this year?

How
can I get the most out of this space?

Take your time answering and then prepare yourself to make
some changes in the near future.

What to grow in Autumn

Choose food your family enjoys eating. Now is a good time to
plant vegetables such as beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, leeks,
lettuce, onions, parsnips, silverbeet, and turnips. Try and buy heirloom
varieties, the children and I at North Melbourne Primary school have been
enjoying heirloom eggplants that are purple and white stripped.

Gardening activities for kids

A great activity to engage children outside the garden is to
start a garden calendar, recording planting dates and when they expect to
harvest the crop. Conversations around the dinner table about what your family
plans to harvest that week and how it will be cooked is a fun way to introduce
the idea of ‘from garden to table’.

At this time of year another fun way for kids to help in the
garden is through bug hunting. Cabbage moths and their bright green
caterpillars have started appearing in my garden already. Encourage your
children with competitions to collect as many of the caterpillars as possible
and then leave the caterpillars in the open for the birds to enjoy for lunch!

I look forward to writing in the next addition of the news,
and helping you with ways you can improve your soil over the cooler months and
talking you about the good companions for winter vegetables. Remember the best
thing to do is get out there and see what is happening in your own gardens.